Quick hits night. Enjoy!

Google beats Oracle on the matter of patent infringement in the big Java/Android case. So the only question left is how the copyright matters will be resolved.

New York legislators want to censor the Internet? Come on guys, come on.

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Quick hits night. Enjoy!

Google beats Oracle on the matter of patent infringement in the big Java/Android case. So the only question left is how the copyright matters will be resolved.

New York legislators want to censor the Internet? Come on guys, come on.

Read More →

CISPA is still a harmless bill devoid of new mandates of power grabs, but I’m actually short of new things to say about it this week. Lieberman-Collins is the real threat. Watch the other hand.

Let’s start with some spectrum instead. Verizon is under fire for trying to buy spectrum from Comcast and other cable companies, even as it tries to sell other spectrum. Note though that observers are saying T-Mobile, recently held up as a competitor who must be propped up by government action, stands to benefit in the marketplace by Verizon’s actions. Sprint, however, is put under pressure to to continued mismanagement and lack of funds to invest in its network.

Why would Verizon buy and sell its spectrum is all over the place, and consolidation allows for less demanding hardware requirements for its phones, which benefits Verizon’s customers. That’s good thinking, and that kind of market innovation should be rewarded, not regulated out of existence.

Look: it’s well and good to try to find a treasure trove of unused spectrum as Mark Warner wants, but hope is not a substitute for making more efficient use of what we already know about.

Though while Warner is optimistic, the NAB is insane. I mean, seriously? Did they miss where Verizon is also buying spectrum, so that it’ll have a net gain? Or that Verizon needs to look to the future, unlike various American broadcasters, who are doing the same old thing, and gradually losing out to new technologies? Jealous much of the Internet, NAB?

Read More →

CISPA is still a harmless bill devoid of new mandates of power grabs, but I’m actually short of new things to say about it this week. Lieberman-Collins is the real threat. Watch the other hand.

Let’s start with some spectrum instead. Verizon is under fire for trying to buy spectrum from Comcast and other cable companies, even as it tries to sell other spectrum. Note though that observers are saying T-Mobile, recently held up as a competitor who must be propped up by government action, stands to benefit in the marketplace by Verizon’s actions. Sprint, however, is put under pressure to to continued mismanagement and lack of funds to invest in its network.

Why would Verizon buy and sell its spectrum is all over the place, and consolidation allows for less demanding hardware requirements for its phones, which benefits Verizon’s customers. That’s good thinking, and that kind of market innovation should be rewarded, not regulated out of existence.

Look: it’s well and good to try to find a treasure trove of unused spectrum as Mark Warner wants, but hope is not a substitute for making more efficient use of what we already know about.

Though while Warner is optimistic, the NAB is insane. I mean, seriously? Did they miss where Verizon is also buying spectrum, so that it’ll have a net gain? Or that Verizon needs to look to the future, unlike various American broadcasters, who are doing the same old thing, and gradually losing out to new technologies? Jealous much of the Internet, NAB?

Read More →

I dunno. They’re certainly scurrying around like… things that scurry… in Albany tonight. This report suggests that the fix is in for the state legislature, and that Governor Cuomo is going to cave on his promise to support reform today, in exchange for promises of reform tomorrow; but it also suggests that the NY legislature has decided to let the courts design the Congressional maps, after all.

Which means… OK. Current breakdown is 21 Democrats, 8 Republicans. After this election, we’re looking at… OK, Hinchey is retiring and Turner is running for Senate, and their districts were erased. 20 Democrats, 7 Republicans. Assume that Hochul and Buerkle cancel each other out*. Still 20/7. Of the remaining Members of Congress, the two most vulnerable are Bishop and Owens, and I think that at least one of them is going to be tossed. So it’s reasonable to think that a 19/8 D/R result is very possible… and that even an 18/9 D/R one is not outside the realm of possibility. Which is to say, one where the NY Republican delegation somehow increases in size in the face of a two-seat CD loss, or at least stands pat.

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I dunno. They’re certainly scurrying around like… things that scurry… in Albany tonight. This report suggests that the fix is in for the state legislature, and that Governor Cuomo is going to cave on his promise to support reform today, in exchange for promises of reform tomorrow; but it also suggests that the NY legislature has decided to let the courts design the Congressional maps, after all.

Which means… OK. Current breakdown is 21 Democrats, 8 Republicans. After this election, we’re looking at… OK, Hinchey is retiring and Turner is running for Senate, and their districts were erased. 20 Democrats, 7 Republicans. Assume that Hochul and Buerkle cancel each other out*. Still 20/7. Of the remaining Members of Congress, the two most vulnerable are Bishop and Owens, and I think that at least one of them is going to be tossed. So it’s reasonable to think that a 19/8 D/R result is very possible… and that even an 18/9 D/R one is not outside the realm of possibility. Which is to say, one where the NY Republican delegation somehow increases in size in the face of a two-seat CD loss, or at least stands pat.

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I say “threatened” because if the NY state legislature doesn’t come to a deal by Wednesday, this is the map that is very likely going to be the one to get used:

…and there’s going to be several Members of Congress who will be very unhappy if that happens. Including Steve Israel of the DCCC.

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I say “threatened” because if the NY state legislature doesn’t come to a deal by Wednesday, this is the map that is very likely going to be the one to get used:

…and there’s going to be several Members of Congress who will be very unhappy if that happens. Including Steve Israel of the DCCC.

Read More →

Remember Dede Scozzafava? In 2009, the New York Republican Party tried to foist her on the people of New York. She was a liberal Republican who, with the backing of unions, almost got elected until conservatives stood up and said no. She wound up dropping out and endorsing the Democrat.

The same New York GOP that gave us her and spectacularly saw the next several of its preferred congressional picks go down in flames, is now ready to redistrict one of the most conservative women in Congress out of Congress because, well, she is willing to stand up to her own party on spending.

Dan McLaughlin pointed out back in 2009 that the New York Republican Party has a habit of being tone deaf when it comes to its political preferences. It seems nothing has changed.

Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle is widely considered one of the most, if not the most, conservative women in Congress. She is a darling of the Club for Growth and of pro-life groups. The New York Senate Republicans, however, don’t like that she is willing to vote against pork for New York, so they’ve redistricted her into a hostile district.

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Remember Dede Scozzafava? In 2009, the New York Republican Party tried to foist her on the people of New York. She was a liberal Republican who, with the backing of unions, almost got elected until conservatives stood up and said no. She wound up dropping out and endorsing the Democrat.

The same New York GOP that gave us her and spectacularly saw the next several of its preferred congressional picks go down in flames, is now ready to redistrict one of the most conservative women in Congress out of Congress because, well, she is willing to stand up to her own party on spending.

Dan McLaughlin pointed out back in 2009 that the New York Republican Party has a habit of being tone deaf when it comes to its political preferences. It seems nothing has changed.

Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle is widely considered one of the most, if not the most, conservative women in Congress. She is a darling of the Club for Growth and of pro-life groups. The New York Senate Republicans, however, don’t like that she is willing to vote against pork for New York, so they’ve redistricted her into a hostile district.

Read More →